Ethics Brewed in an African Pot

Doing ethics in African Christianity raises the challenge of over-generalization in the midst of diversity and variety. This essay surveys the wide ethical landscape of Africa, explores key ethical issues on the continent within the context of the world church, and proposes priorities for action in view of a global ethical partnership

Social Belonging and Built Space: Using Contact, Contention, and Common Conditions to Create Multicultural and Multifaith Shared-Space in a Repurposed Aurora, Colorado, Church

Global patterns of human displacement and migration are diversifying the user base of urban churches. This change produces new settings of cross-cultural encounter and adaptation of social space. This study examines the transition of a Lutheran church into a multifaith and multicultural community center. In Aurora, Colorado, a majority-minority city, the facility offers vital support for immigrants, refugees, and low-income community members while maintaining links with [previous] congregants. Using ethnographic methods, I explore the cultural dimensions of repurposed space for a diverse constituency. Discussed herein are the ways in which the physical space is interpreted, how contention and divergent experiences aid in the construction of shared-space, and the place of commonality in a diverse setting. Using these findings, this paper offers suggestions and strategies for accommodating religious and social diversity in globalizing cities

Making Change: How Social Movements Work and How to Support Them

Provides guidance for funders and activists on funding and sustaining a successful social movement. Details key elements of success, organizational capacities that need to be developed, areas for effective foundation investment, and issues to consider

Pluralismo vivo: lived religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue in Rome

This ethnography of interreligious dialogue in Rome is concerned with how interfaith encounters and social transformation are dialectically constructed and enacted. The network of Roman interfaith organizations is placed in a Durkheimian framework as a moral community with distinct rituals and sacred objects, referred to as the "interfaith society." The interfaith society described here is distinctly shaped by its location in Rome: the neighboring Vatican, engrained cultural Catholicism, and-through global migratory patterns distinct to the late 20th century-the inundation of non-Catholic religions into Italy. This research analyzed the differences that exist between elite institutional events and informal grassroots (di base) gatherings, noting the way third sector nonprofits form a "hinge" between the two. In-depth examination of the publishing cooperative and program office Confronti shows the evolution of Catholic ecumenical efforts into today's interfaith society. It also shows the value of creative dialogue as a form of interfaith engagement. This exploration is based upon interviews with 52 participants across these settings, participant-observation of interfaith practices, and interviews with 17 Romans who do not practice dialogue. Interfaith encounters and interviews with 25 dialoguers in Israel and Palestine illustrate the difference geographical and sociopolitical context can make in the practice of dialogue, and demonstrate that dialogue is framed in both settings as a method to disrupt historical patterns of stereotyping and objectification. This study finds that interfaith dialogue can best be understood by examining its processes and asking what they mean for participants, rather than looking for "metrics." Encounters across religious difference are found to require intention, leadership, and repetition in order to establish a "safe haven." Participants speak of their goals in terms of "humanizing" the other and striving for "mutual recognition." Each of these discursive goals is explored through the narrative data gathered. They are found to be best understood not by measurement of their "success," but as shared sacred values that bind together the interfaith society. The repeated, communal invocation of these sacred values signifies to the members of the community that they belong to the collective, solidifying also awareness of who is not in their group

Faculty ritual, solidarity, and cohesion: Thirty-five years of change at Eastern Mennonite University

This historical case study of Eastern Mennonite University faculty between 1965 and 2000 explored the shifts in social bonds, examined through the concept of ritual (Collins, 2004), concurrent with cultural, social, environmental, and professional forces that impacted the institution. Employing the concepts of cohesion (as the specific other) and solidarity (as the general other) (Mead, 1934) provided a distinction between individual relational networks and the shared ideological commitments that bound faculty together.;Results of the study demonstrated the significance of intrinsic motivators on faculty hiring, persistence, and perceptions of institutional purpose and employment desirability. Physical space (as the place of assembly) and metaphysical space (as the sense of relational or conceptual connection) emerged as significant frames to understand social bond change. Physical faculty dispersal due to campus sprawl contributed to a reduced sense of relational closeness, making opportunities for cross-disciplinary social and task interaction increasingly important.;The terms of social bonds changed concurrent with the shift from strong to weak ties (Granovetter, 1973; Lindenberg, 1998). The strongly-tied religious, educational, and ethnic Mennonite community of the 1960s contained many mutually-reinforcing rituals. The shift toward weak ties was brought on by the professionalization and diversification of faculty, the reinterpretation of Mennonite values and beliefs, and other internal and external forces. The effect was a de-emphasis on ethnic Mennonite rituals as the source of cohesion, and an increased emphasis on educational task rituals. However, social connections established despite difference provided significant new bases for solidarity and cohesion in a professionalized religious community

Language, religion, and difference : North African and Turkish Jewish immigrants in Canada

Cette thèse cherche à comprendre l’appartenance des immigrant.e.s à l’intersection de la langue et de la religion. Elle explore comment les vécus des juif.ves de l’Afrique du Nord et de la Turquie diffèrent les uns des autres et ce que cela dit sur l’interculturalisme et le multiculturalisme au Canada. Elle examine comment les particularités sociétales de Montréal et de Toronto s’intègrent dans les processus de négociation de la différence et créent une relation complexe entre la langue et la religion. En outre, cette thèse cherche à comprendre comment les relations entre les participant.e.s et les groupes majoritaires et les relations inter et intra-juives se forment et se transforment au fil des négociations. L’analyse des récits de vie mettent en évidence le rôle central de la langue et de la religion dans la formation de l’identité du groupe, ainsi que dans la construction de multiples modèles de facettes d’inclusion et d’exclusion vécus par les participant.e.s. Je démontre comment l’identité juive des participant.e.s est fortement attachée à la langue, plutôt que seulement à la religion. Cela permet de donner un sens à l’importance continue de la religion à l’ère « post-laïque », en particulier à la manière dont la religion culturelle est apparue comme un déterminant important de la formation de frontières des immigrant.e.s chez les communautés que j’ai interrogées. Les données empiriques de cette étude ont été recueillies sur une période totale de neuf mois entre mai 2020 et février 2021. À partir des données basées sur des entrevues de récits de vie, mon analyse de la relation complexe entre langue et religion s’appuie sur les relations des participant.e.s avec la culture majoritaire, et les relations inter et intra-juives. Au Québec, je décris en détail comment les juif.ves de l’Afrique du Nord francophones de première génération ont été pris entre les Franco-Québécois et leurs coreligionnaires, les Ashkénazes anglophones et yiddishophones, ce qui a conduit à la reconnaissance de leur communauté dans la province. Il existe des différences générationnelles importantes dans les perspectives des participant.e.s qui m’ont été communiquées. Contrairement aux participant.e.s plus jeunes, je discute comment les juif.ves de l’Afrique du Nord de première génération ont développé un sentiment d’appartenance interculturelle à travers la langue au Québec. À Toronto, les relations des participant.e.s avec la culture majoritaire et les relations intra et interethniques entre elles sont explorées à travers une critique du multiculturalisme comme un moyen de saisir un portrait plus large et structurel du pluralisme canadien. Étant donné que les relations intercommunautaires ne correspondent pas les unes aux autres, je montre comment les juif.ves hispanophones marocain.e.s et turc.que.s ne ressentent pas le besoin de naviguer leur différence entre la majorité et les Ashkénazes anglophones ou yiddishophones, ce qui entraîne à son tour la lacune de reconnaissance de la communauté à Toronto.This dissertation seeks to understand immigrant belonging at the intersection of language and religion. It explores how the lived experiences of North African and Turkish Jewish immigrants differ from one another and what that says about interculturalism and multiculturalism in Canada. It examines how societal particularities of Montréal and Toronto embed in the processes of negotiating the difference and create a complex relation between language and religion. It further looks at how relations between participants and the majority groups and inter and intra Jewish relations form and transform in these processes. The stories I relate in this thesis highlight the centrality of language and religion in shaping group identity, and the multifaceted patterns of inclusion and exclusion experienced by the interview participants.I show how the Jewish identity of the participants is heavily attached to language, rather than just religion. This makes it possible to make sense of the continuing salience of religion in the “post-secular” age, specifically, how cultural religion emerged as an important determinant of immigrant boundary making in the communities I interviewed. The empirical data for this study was gathered over a total of nine months between May 2020 and February 2021. Using life-story interview data, my analysis of the complex relationship between language and religion relies on interviewees’ relations with the majority culture, inter and intra Jewish relations. In Québec, I describe in detail how first-generation francophone North African Jews were caught between Franco-Québécois and their coreligionists, anglophone and Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazim, which in turn led to their community being recognized in the province. There are important generational differences in the perspectives that were shared with me. In contrast to younger participants, I discuss how first-generation North African Jews developed an intercultural sense of belonging through language in Québec. In Toronto, interviewees’ relations with the majority culture and intra and inter-ethnic relations amongst them are explored through a critique of multiculturalism as a way to grasp the larger, structural picture of Canadian pluralism. Since intercommunal relations do not map onto one another, I show how hispanophone Moroccan and Turkish Jews do not feel the need to navigate their difference between the majority and English or Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazim, which in turn result in the recognition gap of the community in Toronto

House Church Leaders: A Multisite Case Study

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine house church leaders in situ within three typologies of home gatherings. Billings (2011) identified three stages of house church formats: (a) Oikos, where the congregants assemble in the home for a complete meal, including the Eucharist; (b) Domus, where the curate renovates and dedicates rooms in their homes for Christian usage; and (c) Aula, where rented facilities house larger gatherings, the liturgy becomes more formalized, and the Eucharist is no longer a full meal (Billings, 2011). House church leaders and congregants sampled fit the three typologies while addressing a gap in the literature. Observations, diaries, individual interviews, and focus groups formed the data of this multisite case study, adding new knowledge to shared leadership in the home. Ten themes were developed to address the five research questions. The external and internal challenges facing house church leaders were identified as (a) Western-base ecclesiology, (b) time constraints, (c) commitment and accountability, and (d) child care. Regarding how house church leaders address these challenges, the participants reported (e) marring the mission of whole-life discipleship by example; this was performed through intentional involvement, with encouragement, and for equipping the saints. The theme about follower perceptions of church leadership was (f) intimate families. The observed leadership characteristics were (g) interspersed and dispersed. The themes describing the alignment of the leadership characteristics with shared leadership were (h) size, (i) voice, and (j) shared purpose

Practicing belonging and navigating uncertainties: the case of Congolese diasporans in South Africa

This thesis provides insight into south-south mobility within Africa, thus confronting atlanticized research lenses that focus on south-north movements. The case of Congolese diasporans in South Africa iCars in the center of attention. The thesis reflects a generation- and space-sensitive approach. The diaspora concept, belonging, and empowerment are examined. Ethnographic fieldwork for this thesis was carried out in 2018 for a period of three months both in Johannesburg as well as in Cape Town. Volunteering and the notion of apprenticeship constituted the ethical backbone of that fieldwork, which aimed at a reciprocal relationship of give-and-take between participants and the researcher. Triangulation of interactive methods combined with volunteering facilitated deep immersion into the research context. Results allowed for modifications of the concepts of diaspora, belonging, and empowerment. The thesis interlinks categories of belonging with uncertainty via continua of belonging. Uncertainty was closely linked to the prevalent danger of afrophobia in South Africa. Coping mechanisms and the empowering nature of Pan-Africanism among young generations set a positive, courageous tone for future developments